Presentation description: Todd Steiner, Executive Director of Turtle Island Restoration Network, and David McGuire, Program Director of TIRN's Shark Stewards program, will appear at Northern California Underwater Photographic Society (NCUPS) on November 11, presenting 'Cocos Island Marine Preserve: a unique Citizen Science Program for Sea Turtle and Shark Conservation.' Through underwater stills and video (including raw footage of a September, 2011 tiger shark attack on a green sea turtle) attendees will also learn about opportunities to participate in STRP's 10- and 12-day, live-aboard research expeditions to this UN World Heritage Site, 350 miles off the coast of Costa Rica.

About the speakers:

Todd Steiner, Executive Director, Turtle Island Restoration Network: Todd Steiner and his allies in the sea turtle community have saved hundreds of thousands, or possibly millions, of sea turtles from death due to human activities. Mentored by environmental icon David Brower, Steiner founded Sea Turtle Restoration Project (SeaTurtles.Org) in 1989 to end the slaughter of 50,000 sea turtles a year in Mexico. Once that campaign was victorious, Steiner turned his attention to accidental bycatch of sea turtles and a shocking array of species in tuna, swordfish and shark commercial fishing fleets.

Today, Steiner is executive director of Turtle Island Restoration Network, a growing force for marine protection. In one of the organization’s keystone projects, divers are engaged as researchers and advocates to study and save the marine life at world-famous Cocos Island, Costa Rica, which is threatened by longline fishing despite its status as a Costa Rican National Park.

David McGuire, MPH, Program Director, Shark Stewards: A professional cinematographer and ocean voyager, David McGuire founded the ocean health and shark conservation non profit Sea Stewards, dedicated to exploring and explaining our ocean world, influencing policies and practices from sustainable fishing to marine protection. Sea Stewards recently merged with Turtle Island Restoration Network in order to increase the effectiveness of both organizations in protecting and restoring marine life. David is also a Research Associate at the California Academy of Sciences, where he is conducting a shark research program. David is the writer, producer and underwater cinematographer of several award-winning documentaries.